SO, my office is doing an "Ugly Tie Wednesday" thing every week. This week was the first official week of it. There are two ties competing for the prize of ugliest of the week. Take a look below:
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Now, I have stated that I feel the one on the left is the ugliest tie. Here's my thinking: the purple tie on the right is a salvageable tie; the one on the left should just be burned on general principles. There was heavy disagreement by the owner of the purple, who fervently advocated his cause for having the ugliest tie. I still think his tie can be made into a fashionable item of clothing. Here's how ...
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Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Lanvin, and more have posted recent runway shows featuring these looks. So, from what I gather of the runway shows, ties like the purple tie (which is a great shade of purple FYI ... purple being the new hot color tie to wear in the political world) are fine to wear, and to offset the lime green polka dots on the tie, you should wear a more dark, charcoal, black, or midnight blue color. I always say that you should pick one item of clothing to be the star of the outfit. In this case it would have to be the tie. What you do is play down the rest of your look in order to present the tie as the featured item. I think with a little inspiration from the above looks, the tie will pull off fine in social settings. I wouldn't recommend it for a professional look (unless you work in fashion or public relations or something along those trendy lines) but it's definitely something I would allow in public.
Now that you've seen the ties, and have had a chance to look at my research, the question is which tie do you find the ugliest, and do you think the purple tie is salvageable for trendy fashions?
The new trends are all about splashes of loud colors--bright, vibrant, shocking colors. We have spent many years trying to avoid bright colors as horrible in fashion. The walls are coming down people: you can wear white after labor day, florals in winter, metal accessories in spring, jewel tones are all over the place (no longer reserved for jewelry), bigger is better, and loud is the best volume ;-)
Here's to style. Cheers!
5 comments:
okay, so i completely agree...but i have a thought that #1 could also be salvaged with a nice oxford button down (maybe in khaki?), v-neck sweater in chocolate brown, and a smart jacket in either navy or khaki cords. v. preppy, sure. thoughts?
purple is so hot for fall though. spot-on analysis.
The photo doesn't do that tie justice ... what you are looking at is a Tommy Bahama shirt made into a tie if that conveys what I'm trying to describe. It has the full South Florida shirt look plastered on it. I personally hate that look to my core, so for me there's nothing to do but burn that tie and send it back to Hell!
However, I would take the look you described, and rather than have that tie, this would be an instance where I would recommend a nice bowtie. With the khaki and chocolate, the one thing that would set it off is a pink bowtie (yes, Oliver B. finally bent his rule on pink for men). I have to say I was inspired by Matty when thinking of your concept. It would be a hot look on him. His skin tone would do the pink tie justice.
OK, so as the owner of the purple tie, I fully conceded that the other contender won this week's competition. My only argument was with Mr. Styles' assertion that my tie was not ugly in virtue of the fact that it was "salvageable." Now, I also concede that a tie of that general style can be pulled off if done in the manner suggested by the author of this blog. However, this is not such a tie. It is cheap and tacky looking. A loud, purple tie can work, but it has to look stylish. This one just looks cheap and loud. That said, the other tie won, hands down.
I actually liked the texture of the tie as well. It was a little rough and I think that helps play it against the smooth lines the right look would create. You become that walking contrast that is fashion. It's the same way you find elegant clothing shot in a rusty warehouse. I want to see that rough contrast in the clothes if you're not on a photo shoot.
OMG, please burn the first tie immediately. It makes me want to vomit. The purple tie is completely salvageable and is not vomit inducing. Sorry, purple tie guy!
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